Question
I like 2 turkish celebrities but one of them shared a story with nazar amulet emoji in it and other one worked in drama in which nazar amulet was hanging. As i have heard that blue nazar amulet is haram and shirk . If i discourage their bad things and like good things? Is it likeliness to shirk??or is it kufr?
Answer
The Prophet ﷺ told us: “A person will be with whom he loves.” On the Day of Judgement, we will be resurrected with the one’s we follow. If we follow, look up to and imitate the way the Prophets, Allah’s close servants, or the people of knowledge, we will be raised with them. If we look up to others and follow their styles and mannerisms, we will be raised with them on the Day of Judgement. Thus, fundamentally, following and being fans of actors, celebrities and so forth is not advised.
Nonetheless, it is permissible to admire good traits in others. If you believe that a certain individual has a remarkable halal talent, one can admire this as this is something that occurs naturally. For arguments sake, one may respect and admire the sporting prowess of Tony Hawk as they are naturally drawn to his skill. Similarly, one may hear of an individual’s dedication and be impressed. However, there is a fine line between being naturally impressed or admiring someone for a lawful talent, and eagerly following their content, career and so forth.
Lastly, one is permitted to follow individuals of the same gender on social media if they provide something of benefit – advice, guidance or motivation. Learning and being inspired by others is not outlawed by the Shari’ā, Though, principally, our guidance and advice should come from religious people. For example, you have asked two questions to us, seeking our advice. This is very good. It is very easy to get confused by the noise of social media, so having the guidance of the religiously learned is essential.
As you have noticed yourself, the celebrities you like are flawed beings. As a learned person in the matters of religion, you may see activities or traits in these influencers which are reprehensible in religion. You know that having these nazar amulets are wrong to keep. Consider how someone who is not as knowledgeable as yourself may perceive this; maybe they will think this to be okay, or they may like the design and colour of the amulet so much that they buy it for themselves. After all, they are called influencers for a reason, and influencing our choices of buying is their bread and butter. Similarly, if someone is providing us with guidance or inspiration, and we are not learned in certain religious matters, we may be affected by un-Islamic influences. Therefore, while we can consume the content of others for motivation or inspiration, ultimately, we should continue to grow our knowledge of Islam and consult the religiously learned so that our ideas are kept in check.
Overall, we advise abstaining from following celebrities like this in general. We are influenced by those we look up to –our word choices, fashion choices, and even our mannerisms. If we consume content from others without these broader considerations in mind, we will be at a loss. May Allah guide us all!
Answered by:
Maulana Ikramul Hoque Miah
Checked & Approved by:
Mufti Abdul Rahman Mangera
Mufti Zubair Patel